Police investigating crash that killed boy, 10; site is same as fatal 2009 distracted driving case

Amy Alderman and Andrea BrownChicago Tribune

Lake County Sheriff’s police say they will be trying to piece together details leading up to Monday’s fatal crash that killed a 10-year-old Island Lake boy and injured his twin brother. But for now, officials are giving the boys’ father breathing room while he mourns the loss of a son.

“We’re talking about a father who lost his son and has another in the hospital. I don’t think we want to jump the gun,” Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said at a press conference Tuesday.

Griffin Shirey, of the 3000 block of Max Court, was killed when the Lincoln Continental his father, Scott, was driving was struck by a open flatbed pickup truck at the intersection of Route 12 and Old McHenry Road in Wauconda at about 5:45 p.m. Monday. Griffin’s twin brother, Nicholas, was airlifted to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Sheriff’s Deputy Chief Kevin Parker said.

Scott Shirey, 49, was making a left turn from southbound Route 12 onto Old McHenry Road when the truck t-boned the Lincoln, police said. Two other vehicles where also struck by the truck, which was carrying roofing shingles, but there were no injuries to the drivers or occupants, police said.

The crash occurred at the same intersection where a 2009 crash claimed the life of Anita Zaffke, 56, of Lake Zurich. In that high-profile case, the driver Lora L. Hunt, 51, of Morris, was painting her fingernails when she crashed into Zaffke’s vehicle.

There is no evidence distracted driving was a contributing factor to Monday’s crash, Curran said. Witnesses did report seeing the truck’s driver, Matthew M. Loiacano of Antioch, 29, speeding and running a red light.

No charges have been brought against any of the drivers involved in the Monday traffic crash. Sheriff’s deputies are still investigating the scene and processing witness accounts of the crash, Curran said.

Loiacano was taken to the sheriff’s department for questioning on Monday, but has been released, Lake County sheriff’s officials said. All drivers involved in the accident submitted to a DUI kit and Loiacano provided a urine sample, police said.

Nicholas “Nicky” Shirey was in critical condition but has been upgraded to stable condition, according to his uncle, John Shirey, 62, reached by phone in North Port, Florida. John Shirey last saw the boys four years ago.

“It’s just a horrific tragedy. What can you say? It’s almost unbelievable,” John Shirey said.“It’s not just Griffin who’s now dead, Nicky is beat up pretty bad. They say he’s stable. They’re two just wonderful 10-year-old-kids. They loved athletics, all their activities. This is just an awful situation.”

Griffin Shirey was a fifth-grader at Cotton Creek School in Island Lake, where he played baseball and was also a swimmer, said Wauconda Community Unit School District 118 Superintendent Dan Coles.

“He was just a wonderful boy. He was a very good student,” Coles said.

His fraternal twin, Nicholas, is also a fifth-grader at Cotton Creek but in a different class. Both boys are well liked, Coles said.

The school enacted a crisis plan Monday night, and many students knew about the accident by Tuesday morning, he said. Psychologists and counselors were already in the building at the start of the school day.

“They’re going to be working with the kids throughout the day and throughout the week,” Coles said.

“Our prayers and our thoughts go out to the family,” Coles said. ‘It is just a devastating situation, and we feel bad for everyone involved. It’s a very sad day.”